+ inload: Down Amongst the Dead Men – Part II +

With bolt shells flying and howls of agony and rage from both sides, the battle was at its height.

The recalcitrant Iron Warrior sergeant finally fell to the blade of the Imperial Fist Captain, and the Imperial Fists resumed their stoic advance up the southern street. They kept close to cover and out of sight of the plasma-armed Iron Warriors.

As the Imperial Fists in the south brought down the Iron Warriors there, a squad of Imperial Fists, pinned down at the entrance of the large central ruin, appraised their brethren of the situation. They were safely out of sight, but too small in number to reliably contest the central objective.

Alerted to the Iron Warriors' numbers, the Imperial Fists' Captain gave a barked order. Ever-disciplined, the bulk of the Fists' force wheeled towards the large ruin to attack the entrenched defenders, enveloping the ruin and advancing from two sides.

Intercepting the vox, Çjarn – injured but standing turned back with a snarl. He had to buy his men time – but a swift duel saw the Iron Warrior Captain sprawling in the dust, defeated.

Outnumbered and surrounded, and with their Captain down, the bitter IVth Legionaries still held an advantage in objectives claimed and a defended position – if they could drive the Imperial Fists back, or simply prevent them getting close, they could still claim victory.

Seizing the chance, the surviving boltgun-armed squad advanced under the cover of the plasma-armed squad to grab the objective.

Running out of time, those Imperial Fists close enough charged into combat...

...and the charge proved decisive, as the Iron Warriors were brought down. Despite one surviving, the objective was lost.

Victory to the Imperial Fists!

+++

+ Post-battle thoughts +

+ Coo, that was fun. Leaving aside the rules for the new edition for the moment, poor old Çjarn can't catch a break – this is his fifth successive defeat without claiming a kill! :D ++ I had an absolute blast, and Graham's already challenged me to a rematch, so we'll see if the hapless Centurion can do better next time. +

+ The game was tense and involving, and could have gone either way. Though it should be borne in mind we were playing a small game with few units, my first impression of the new 8th edition rules are that it felt clean and simple. It all felt quite intuitive, too, so there's a balance of familiarity and shiny newness to the ruleset. ++ I'm slightly disappointed that the you-go-I-go system is still broadly in place, though it is broken up a little by the combat phase, and the speed of the game means that there's more sense of being involved during the other players' turn, so it's certainly an improvement on the increasingly clunky 7th edition on that front. ++ We were using the rules for the new Primaris Marines – it's nice to have rules that reflect the bigger armies we've been using for a few years now – and they helped to showcase some of the rules. Having two wounds meant that overcharging the plasma weaponry – which would remove the enemy in one hit, but could kill your own troops equally easily – was a proper choice. ++ That choice is one example of some of the interesting mechanics that popped up. Chargers striking first, 'command auras', and variable damage on weapons, for example, combine to improve the sense that the decisions we were making mattered. In turn, that made for a more immersive experience. ++ Given that we were playing with such a limited range of units and equipment, I'm very optimistic, and can't wait to try some more games of 8th. +